2 Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when
people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what
their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the
truth and turn aside to myths.
The first part of 2 Timothy 4 deals with the art of
preaching and how valuable it is to grow the faith of church people. As a
preacher, I am biased about this, but I believe Paul’s cautionary advice to Timothy
is as relevant now as it was way back then. Preaching is not a form of vocal
entertainment or a religious TED talk presentation. Preaching is about expressing
the hard stuff about our faith and how much it actually influences or
interferes with our lives.
Some people think that preaching is easy; indeed, if
anyone was given the opportunity to preach a one-off sermon, they would make a
wonderful presentation. However, preaching to the same people week by week,
month after month, year over year, is never easy because the longer you preach
in one place, a deeper insight is given which can be very challenging and really
uncomfortable at times. In fact, some people hop from one church to another
because the sermons begin to seriously impact their lives and meddle with their
nominal commitment to a local congregation.
Paul’s advice to Timothy was given to make the young
preacher aware that church people are sometimes fickle and only embrace what
they want to hear. They even go to great lengths to find preachers and teachers
who will reflect their personal opinions and values, which is potentially dangerous
because they can be easily led astray by a charismatic speaker or a religious
charmer, who will separate them from God’s Truth and turn them away from the
Gospel. Any authentic preacher knows this and so he or she will work hard to
present God’s Word in Kingdom terms, not popular trends.
Questions
for personal reflection
How often do I pray for the preacher at my church?
When the preacher preaches something I find hard to accept, where do I look for
the Truth?
Prayer: Lord
Jesus, You have called some people to be preachers in Your Kingdom here on Earth.
This calling is never easy and has become more difficult during these
post-modern, secular, and affluent times. Sustain those whose difficult duty is
to maintain our faith connections through the words You give them. Bless them
as they prepare their sermons for this coming Sunday. In Your Holy Name, we
pray. Amen.
John Stuart is the pastor
of Erin Presbyterian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee. If you would like to
comment or ask a question about this devotional, please send him an email to Traqair@aol.com.
Today’s image is an old
drawing of John’s called ‘Emmaus Bread.’ If you would like to view a larger
version, please click this link: Emmaus.
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